Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. Sells 12,023 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,186 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,023 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 2.5% of Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $42.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $179.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).

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